A Former Prosecutor Admits Evading Taxes

Published: September 4, 1988

A former assistant district attorney in Brooklyn has pleaded guilty to one count of income-tax evasion, a felony with a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The former official, Joel Winograd, now a prominent defense lawyer, signed an agreement Friday under which he entered a guilty plea on the charge for 1985, waiving prosecution by indictment. According to the agreement, the 48-year-old lawyer will not be prosecuted for violations arising out of the investigation for the other years between 1981 and 1986, but he is still liable for the taxes, interest and penalties for the entire period.

Noting that other judges had disqualified themselves from the case, Judge Thomas C. Platt of the Eastern District of New York said, ''I'm certainly distressed to see Mr. Winograd standing here,'' and released him on his own recognizance. Six of the 14 judges in the district had recused themselves because of past associations with Mr. Winograd.

''I have confidence in the system, and this matter will be settled taxwise,'' said Mr. Winograd, who was a longtime lawyer for the late Paul Vario, reputed head of the Lucchese crime family.